The new Accountability Review Board (ARB) report
on the Sept. 11 Benghazi attacks reveals the multiple layers
of failure that led to the death of four Americans, including
Ambassador Christopher Stevens.

The chief of the State Department's security service and two
other officials have
resigned in the wake of the report, which serves as an
example of the risks of practicing "expeditious diplomacy."

The strategy would employ a light American footprint in dangerous
areas where the U.S. wants to keep a firm grasp on developing
diplomatic relations — those being between Washington and the new
Libyan government.

The strategy, though subtle, required hiring of light Libyan
security forces rather than ostentatious American security
contractors — who are likely to cause a bit more of a stir in
public.

"The idea is that several heavily armed Americans on foreign soil
is not conducive to diplomatic relations," a State Department
official told BI on condition of anonymity. "There's only X
amount of Special Agents, a handful on the ground there, to
expect [them] to withstand a mob of hundreds of people is not
realistic."

The official did say, though, that to expect a fledgling
government like Libya to put up reciprocal security forces for
American diplomats was also not realistic.

Another reason the mission didn't receive many American or
Libyan resources is because it "was never a consulate and never
formally notified to the Libyan government," according to the
report, which makes sense since the U.S. effort there
was"at
its heart a CIA operation."